Best Places in NC? (and worse) (condo, townhome, wage)

[kansaslady]

I plan to visit the NC region and check out areas myself; but for right now I am looking for some input from residents, or prior residents who can help me with the best and worse areas in NC to live in. I plan to retire in about 4 years and am doing a lot of research on places to live and NC is on my list. I will also be looking at TN, SC, GA.

I live just SW of Kansas City and have no complaints except for the winter ice/snow; however, I will still need to work part-time wherever I move, so am looking for an area that offers a pretty mild winter.

Would also like a mid-size town (around 20k-30k population), one that has affordable housing (rents ~$600/mo; or condo/townhome in the $115k range). The type of work I'll be doing will probably be clerical so am looking for something that will pay $10-13/hr part-time (and without benefits, the hourly wage is usually a little higher than for full-time employment).

Maybe I'm reaching for the moon, maybe not, but it never hurts to ask.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.